Holiday Deception
by kellsmarie
Summary: “Before you step foot into this apartment, let me make it perfectly clear that the events that take place after you cross this threshold are not to be shared with anyone else for the rest of your God given life. Got it?” RM Thanksgiving one shot for OCFF.


Prompt: Mashed Potatoes, Corn, and Green Bean Casserole

"Before you step foot into this apartment, let me make it perfectly clear that the events that take place after you cross this threshold are not shared with anyone else for the rest of your God given life. Got it?" Marissa Cooper watched as the brunette in front of her nodded lazily, the smallest traces of a smirk evident as she finally moved out of his way and allowed him to enter the apartment she was currently residing in. As soon as she had turned around to lead the way into the kitchen, she could hear his sarcastic voice already beginning to chastise her and making her wonder once again just exactly what had caused her to stoop to this level.

Seth Cohen was a great friend, always there when she needed to be cheered up and an expert at making himself scarce whenever the situation was serious or dramatic. But he was the last person she ever thought she would be turning to for advice, especially with a situation she truly found to be this dire in nature. She hadn't even met Seth until she had started to date his adopted brother, Ryan Atwood, almost eight years ago, and that was her real motive behind this secretive meeting behind closed doors. The last thing she wanted was for Ryan to find out that she was dreading Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

She met Ryan while the two were attending Berkley, he had been a Junior at the time and herself a Sophomore. She had grown up in Laguna Beach, he in Newport Beach, and while the two had led extravagant, upper class lifestyles up to this point, their lives had differed greatly. Ryan had spent the majority of his life in Chino, and then once living with the Cohens, he had grown accustomed to a tight-knit family that was always there for one another. Marissa had grown up in the same household as her parents from day one, and yet, most of the time she felt as if they were strangers. At least, she knew she wished they were strangers most days.

It would be only two years before she and Ryan would decide to move in together, and now they had been living together for six years, only the apartment had changed. And even after eight years ago, Marissa could count the number of holidays they had spent together on one hand. In the beginning of the early stages of their relationship, the two of them had just felt more comfortable spending the holidays with their own families. They would go their separate ways on the actual dates and set aside time to do something special together either before or after said holiday. There had been a year or two when they would flip back and forth, spend Thanksgiving with one person's family and Christmas with the others, but then Marissa's father had found out he was ill and each passing holiday seemed like it would be his last. She couldn't expect Ryan to forgo every single holiday with his family, so they once again went their separate ways. But now, her father had died and her mother, the raging alcohol she had become, would certainly be happier spending the evening with her current twenty-something boyfriend than her own daughter. Marissa's sister, Kaitlyn, was studying abroad in Paris for the semester, so it just made sense to spend Thanksgiving with Ryan's parents.

The two holiday dinners she had spent with the Cohens had been lavish dinners, fitting to the house they lived in and the clothes they wore, and while Marissa had once lived the same way, she had been surprised that Kirsten Cohen of all people would throw together such a traditional dinner when she had never known the woman to be much of a help in the kitchen. And now that she and Ryan had offered to host dinner for the small family, she was nervous beyond belief. How could she compete with Kirsten like that, especially now that she needed to winner the older woman over?

"Marissa, you're a gorgeous woman," Seth finally said, breaking her from her trance, and she noticed for the first time that he had made himself comfortable sitting on the kitchen countertop. "You're sexy. You have a great body. No guy in the world would ever dream of turning you away, but I," he solemnly told her, placing a hand over his heart and wearing an expression of pain, " I love my brother too much to hurt him like this." Marissa responded with a roll of her eyes as she leaned against the island, crossing her arms over her chest. She should've known that this would be Seth's reaction to her call, practically begging him to come over immediately because she needed help with a certain problem she wouldn't elude to on the phone. It probably would've helped her if she hadn't mentioned the fact that he had to come and leave before Ryan returned from work as well.

"Seth," she finally replied with the smallest hint of a sigh as she moved away from the island to retrieve something from the drawer in front of her. "If I was ever looking for sex you would be the last person I would even think of approaching. But your effort is very sweet." She turned back around with a list in her hand, not waiting for a snide reply before speaking again. "But in all seriousness, that's not what I need your services for. I need to know about your Thanksgiving dinners growing up. If I'm going to be cooking for five people, two of which are your parents, I need to make sure that I have everything right."

As she handed the list over to the young man in front of her, she swore she saw the tiniest shimmer of confusion in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared as he gave her another Cheshire grin. "Why? Because you're going to break their hearts when they find out that you're stealing their little boy from them forever? Or are you trying to cushion the blow when you tell them that you're currently carrying my brother's love child?"

"It's not like that," the stubborn blonde quickly retorted with a sure shake of her head, her hand automatically falling to rest protectively on her abdomen. She knew that the fact that they had chosen to entrust Seth with their good news a little over a week ago would come back to bite them, but the two of them had never thought that the news would be controversial. Marriage had always been something they planned to do, but it wasn't a necessity the way it had been for many of the other couples they knew. She didn't need to worry about Ryan leaving her if there was no ring on her finger and, and he felt the same way. Marriage would only be a symbol of their love, it wouldn't change their relationship.

They hadn't been trying to get pregnant either, they just weren't doing anything to prevent it. They had discussed the idea of having children early on in their relationship and had come to the agreement that they would accept any children they were given without a doubt. They were both capable adults, and they were truly happy when they had discovered Marissa was eight weeks pregnant. But telling their families was another thing altogether. She honestly doubted that her mother would even choose to care, and Kaitlyn would be indifferent as well, but Kirsten and Sandy seemed to be so traditional to her. She had no way of knowing how they would take their news that she and Ryan had agreed to share now that she was at the beginning of her second trimester.

"I just, I want to make sure that your parents know that I'm capable of taking care of Ryan and taking care of this baby. I know that I have nothing to prove to myself, but I love your parents. And I want them to love me just as much."

"I know that you don't have to worry about that," Seth said sincerely for possibly the first time in his life," but if doing this will make you feel better, I'd be happy to oblige my services." The lanky brunette finally glanced down at the hand-written list in his right hand, stopping at the second item and looking back up at her. "I hope you're not planning on making these mashed potatoes out of those waxy flakes companies try to pass off as an easier way to make a favorited dish. Kirsten Cohen does not believe in shortcuts. And my dad's pretty impartial to his green bean casserole. Make sure you pay special attention to that one as well."

Marissa nodded, biting her bottom lip lightly as she watched the younger man scour over the list in his hands. As if there wasn't enough pressure on her already, now she knew that she couldn't lighten the workload and just make instant mashed potatoes. And in addition to that, she would have to prepare a dish she wasn't planning on cooking in the first place. "Anything else?" she asked, the slightest edge of hesitation in her voice.

Relief flooded over her as Seth merely shook his head no and handed her list back to her. "No, that's all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do of my own. The entertainment for the evening has always been up to me, and this year, it's going to be the perfect Christmas Mix CD. Who knew that Death Cab had produced their own Christmas songs? I only have a week left, and if I'm going to live up to my name, I have to get a start on it now."

Marissa nodded silently and let the other man let himself out as she let her body fall against the counter once again. She only had a week left until Thanksgiving and she already felt stressed out. How would she ever get all of this done?

Ryan sighed as he let himself into the apartment he had shared with Marissa for years now, setting down his briefcase and loosening his tie before he was even out of the foyer. He began to speak as he made his way towards the kitchen where he already knew he would find his fiancée. "Talk about a horrible day. So many things have gone wrong with this new school building I have a feeling we're never going to finish it on time. And the blueprints for the bank are all wrong. I'm just glad that I have the next four days to spend entirely with…" His voice trailed off as he finally made his way into the small kitchen, finding Marissa sitting on the floor against the counter in tears. Immediately, his first reaction was to panic and assume the worst, and he was fighting to stay calm as he sat down beside her, brushing her long blonde hair out of her damp face and placing a gentle hand on your cheek. "What's wrong, Riss? Is it the baby?"

She shook her head quickly as she finally returned his gaze, her eyes wide to assure him that there was nothing that serious bothering her. She forced a weak smile through her tears as he moved his other hand to lace his fingers through hers, offering her a small comfort as he still struggled to find out what exactly was causing her to be this emotional. "No, Ry, I'm fine. It's not me or the baby or anything like that. It's this," she finally explained, motioning around the kitchen with a wave of her hand, and for the first time since arriving home, Ryan finally noticed the disarray of his surroundings.

The kitchen was a complete mess, and he could tell that she had been slaving over whatever it was on the stove for the majority of her day. He had never seen the kitchen looked like this, and then it dawned on him that he had never seen her cook period. Confusion clouded his features as his line of vision locked on her despaired face once again. She sighed as she bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit he found endearing. "It's for tomorrow, for Thanksgiving. I wanted to impress your parents, but now… It's a disaster, just a disaster."

Ryan laughed softly out of disbelief as he pulled his distraught fiancée into his arms and wrapped his arms gently around her waist, waiting for her to lay her head back against his chest. "What do you mean, you wanted to impress my parents? You already have, time and time again." When he saw her confused expression, he nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. "My parents have always been amazed by your independence and the way you carry yourself. You had to raise your sister on your own after your parents divorced, and my parents admire you for that. They think the highest of you, and they've told me many times that they know that you truly do love me. Why would you question something like that."

She sighed again, giving a small shrug of her shoulders. "It's not that I don't think that they love me or that they don't like seeing us together, it's that we're telling them about the baby now, and obviously they're going to believe us that our engagement that's now going on four years is more permanent now. And Seth… He told me about the Thanksgiving dinners Kirsten cooks. He told me that she only ever uses real potatoes to make mashed potatoes and that Sandy loves green bean casserole. And I promised him that I would stick to my list, but honestly. What the hell kind of grocery store doesn't have frozen corn?"

"Wait, Marissa," he finally managed, her small frame shaking as she got herself worked up once again. "First, of all, you need to calm down. Getting this upset isn't good for you or the baby. So can you do that for me?" She nodded, wiping away her remaining tears and taking a deep breath. Once she was much calmer, Ryan rose to his feet with her still in his arms, moving to sit on the living room couch with Marissa still positioned in his lap. "Now, tell me just what Seth told you."

She sighed once again, shaking her head as she leaned back against his strong frame, finding comfort in being so close to him. "It's embarrassing… I called him over here while you were at work to find out what Kirsten usually did for Thanksgiving dinner. We both know that Seth is destined to be a bachelor for eternity, and I really do feel like I'm taking their little boy from them. So, I thought that if I could pull off a holiday dinner that would rival hers, then maybe they would find it easier to accept the changes we're making in our lives. I already had a list written of all the things I could remember from when I was at a Thanksgiving dinner with your family. Then, I had Seth look it over to tell me if I had missed anything and to give me any advice he could." As soon as she had stopped speaking, Ryan burst into laughter, the sound reverberating in her own chest. "What? What about this situation could possibly be this funny?"

"Riss," he said quietly once he had gained his composure, brushing another stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I hate to break it to you, but Seth screwed your over for his own benefit." She gave him a puzzled look and he could only nod in response. "Thanksgiving dinners at the Cohens consist of Chinese takeout in front of the TV as we watch _White Christmas_. The few times you did spend Thanksgiving with my family, Kirsten had the dinner catered for the sole purpose of impressing you because she figured that's what you were used to."

"Oh my god, you have to be kidding me." Marissa groaned inwardly as she covered her eyes with her hands, rubbing her temple. "Here I was, stressing myself out over a dinner that really wasn't necessary at all. What the hell was Seth thinking?"

"I think the better question is, what were you thinking, Marissa?" Ryan replied after a long silence, but his tone wasn't chastising. Instead, it was calm and reassuring, the same way it had been for the majority of their conversation. "You should have never questioned the way my parents feel about you. They love you more than you can imagine. And more importantly, I love you."

"I love you too," she said, offering him a small smile as he left a tiny kiss on the top of her head. She stayed in his arms for a long while, enjoying the closeness before she finally spoke aloud the question that was on both of their minds. "What are we going to do about tomorrow though?"

"Well, first we're going to clean up that mess and you're going to promise me you will never attempt to cook anything like this again." She nodded, his last statement causing her to elicit a small laugh. "Then, we're going to search the phonebooks for every catering business we can find. We're going to order dinner now, then make sure that we have the food here before Seth arrives. As far as everyone knows, you cooked everything that's going to be on that table. We don't want to give Seth the satisfaction of knowing that you couldn't meet his challenging requests." He left another tiny kiss on her forehead before leaning closer and whispering in her ear. "And come Christmas, Seth had been be watching his back. Revenge is very, very sweet."


End file.
